Double Trouble
by mezzo puny
Summary: After a mysterious explosion, Wheeljack from the Prime universe is sent into the G1 series.
1. Chapter 1

KABOOM!

"Wheeljack you better be in one piece when I get in there! I swear to Primus I will-"

Ratchet stopped short, surprised to see not just one Wheeljack in tact, but _two_ , though one of them was slightly unfamiliar to him.

The Wheeljack that he recognized raised his servos defensively. "Ratchet, I can explain-"

The other Mech butted in.

"Yeah, easy there, Doc bot! Don't get your transistors in a twist."

Rachet put his hand up to stop the two from rambling further.

"I'm going to turn around and count to five, and when I turn back around, there better be only one wheeljack, with all his limbs still intact"

Ratchet turned, closed his optics, and counted to five very, _very_ slowly. When he turned back, he saw that now _zero_ Wheeljacks remained.

He sighed, counted to ten, and went off to inform Prime of the incident.

* * *

Wheeljack had no idea what he did to tick off Rachet this time, nor did he know where his new 'twin' had come from, so he decided to find Bulkhead and get his opinion on the matter.

However, after walking out of medbay, he realized that this was not the Autobot base that he was familiar with. For one, it was much bigger and ship like than he was accustomed to. Secondly, there were a lot more bots around than he could remember the names of.

Finally, and most worrisome, he could not find Bulkhead anywhere, not even on the comm unit.

Out of options, he transformed and rolled out to the Wrecker meetup coordinates and would make a plan if he got there and there was still no Bulkhead.

A few kliks later, the Wheeljack originally in the lab stepped out from his hiding place behind his latest project after he heard Rachet and his doppelganger leave the room. Cycling a vent in relief, he went back to working on his project when he noticed that it had, though not as violently as usual, exploded.

" _Oh well"_ , Wheeljack thought. _"You win some, you lose some, though seeing as I haven't lost any limbs yet today, I'd say I broke even."_

He then commed the Dinobots.

::Hey Swoop, I didn't blow up today, so I'll be over sooner than planned::

::Me Swoop know. Can see you Wheeljack right now. You Wheeljack close now. Me Swoop hang up::

::Wait, Swoop, that isn't- ::

The comm link went dead.

"-me."

He sighed.

"Scrap"

* * *

Rachet found Prime outside of his office talking to Ironhide.

"-and said to them that I ain't got no Southern accent! I ain't even from the Southern half of Cybertron, let alone Earth!"

Optimus nodded politely, not mentioning that the southern accent he was accused of also came from the northern half of Earth.

"Prime, have you seen-"

Wheeljack came rushing down the hall, knocking the three bots down in the process, in a mad hurry.

"My babies! Wheeljack's coming to save you, don't worry!", his fins flashing with panic. He then continued springing until he was out of the Arc, where he transformed and sped off.

"-Wheeljack." Ratchet finished.

Optimus picked himself up and dusted himself off before offering a hand to help Ironhide and Ratchet up.

"How odd" Prime said. "That's the second time I've been knocked over by Wheeljack today, though the first time he was looking for someone called 'Bulkhead'"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Optimus. There are now TWO Wheeljacks, of at least, one more than we were previously aware of."

"Babies?" Ironhide asked suspiciously.

"He keeps insisting that the Dinobots are his-"

Ratchet's optics grew wide. "Sweet Primus, I need to leave right now."

Not even waiting until he got outside, Ratchet transformed and sped away in the same direction as Wheeljack.

* * *

Swoop, with the rest of his Dinobot brothers, was fishing in the Transformer made lake that was full of robotic fish when he saw Wheeljack approaching.

Screeching happily, he transformed to robot mode and started running towards his creator.

Wheeljack, in response, transformed to robot mode as well and was about to bring out his katanas when he noticed the Autobot symbol on the approaching bot's chest.

"Didn't expect to see any other Wreckers around these parts", Wheeljack said. "They call me Wheeljack"

He held out his hand and retracted his battle mask.

"What's your-"

That's when Swoop started screaming.

"Your face! You Wheeljack face fell off! AAAHHHH!"

The other Dinobots, already on their way, transformed to robot mode and ran the rest of the way to find out what made their youngest brother so upset.

Then they started screaming as well.

"You Wheeljack face!"

"Oh no!"

"Where it go?!"

"AAAHHH!"

Wheeljack, quickly figuring out that the bots in front of him were NOT Wreckers, but really big sparklings with low object permanency knowledge, put his battle mask back on.

Fortunately, that did the trick to calming the group down.

"You Wheeljack play with us Dinobots now?" Swoop asked, after he calmed down.

"Sure, kid. Why not. What did you have in mind?"

* * *

When Wheeljack arrived, he was met with the sight of his doppelganger and his Dinobots running around haphazardly. Or, more accurately, the Dinobots running around while his counterpart looked like he was trying just not to be trampled.

"Oh, thank Primus, they're OK." Wheeljack said quietly to himself. "Grimlock! Slag! Sludge! Snarl! Swoop! I'm back! It's time for your checkup!"

"Me Slag no want check up. Me Slag want play!" Slag said to the just arrived Wheeljack, ignoring the one that was already there.

"Me too!" said Snarl.

"Me three!" agreed Sludge.

"Come on, now, you guys aren't afraid of a little check up, are you?"

"Me Grimlock fear nothing! Me Grimlock king!"

"Then you'll sit still for your checkup?"

Grimlock hesitated.

"Optimus doesn't sit still for checkups?" Wheeljack tried cautiously. Saying that Prime wouldn't do something was one way to get the Dinobots to do it, but it only worked some of the time.

While Grimlock was thinking, Ratchet arrived, followed by Optimus Prime and Ironhide. The three transformed and walked over to the Wheeljack near Grimlock, not noticing the other slowly scooching in the other direction.

"OK, me Grimlock sit still for checkup. For now."

He transformed into his robot mode and sat cross legged on the ground in front of Wheeljack. Wheeljack pulled a scanner from his subspace and started the examination on Grimlock as the rest of the Dinobot's sat in a line and waited for their turn. If Grimlock did something, it didn't take much convincing to get the other Dinobots to do it as well.

"How are they looking so far?" Ratchet asked, pulling out a scanner of his own and starting on Slag.

"Not too bad. Reverse psychology worked like a charm this time around"

"Me Grimlock MOST charming Dinobot!"

"You sure are, big guy" Ironhide agreed. "You sure are"

"Any sign of your double?" Ratchet asked.

Ironhide and Optimus looked at each other.

"Double?!" they both asked confused.

"Ain't one of you blowing up enough?" Ironhide asked.

"He's over there" Wheeljack said, gesturing with his head to where his doppleganger was sneaking away. "He's not going to get very far, though, if you're worried"

"And why is that?" Optimus asked.

They then looked up to the sound of a scream, and saw flashes of swords connecting with a hoard of Insecticons.

"Ah. I … see." Optimus looked to Ironhide. "If you would be so kind?"

"On it, boss bot!" Ironhide transformed and drove towards the wayward Autobot. Upon approaching, he transformed and started firing. "I got your back, Jack!"

"Thanks, pal. Now lets smoke these cons!"

"My pleasure."

They fought the Insecticons together, though it didn't last long.

"Insecticons, retreat! retreat," Shrapnel ordered.

Shrapnel, Bombshell, Kickback, and their remaining swarm retreated into the sky.

"Not bad shooting out there, partner," Wheeljack said, retracting his battle mask and holding out his hand. "You?

"Ironhide," Ironhide replied, shaking the offered hand. "And I already know who you are, on account of you looking like our mad- i mean top- scientist over there" he said with a nod towards the group.

"Don't worry, it's not the first time I've been called mad. Scientist is a new one to me, but mad? Nah. I'm a Wrecker in my … well, I guess I'll have to figure that one out"

"Why don't you come back with me, and we'll sort things out with Prime."

Ironhide transformed and drove back to the group.

"Do I have a choice?"

Wheeljack transformed and followed after.


	2. Chapter 2

As Ironhide and Wheeljack approached the group, they transformed back to robot mode. Optimus Prime stepped out front to greet them with an open hand.

"Hey there, boss bot! Lets see how different you are!" Wheeljack said, excited, and took Optimus' hand in his own.

"I am afraid I do not understand your question" Optimus said. "Different from what?"

"Different universe, Same ol Prime" Wheeljack said with a sly smile. "Some things never change. Does the Ultra Magnus of this world have a stick shift up his aft too?"

"Does who have a what now" Ironhide asked.

"Ultra Magnus left with a different ship than ours. His whereabouts are currently unknown, but I have faith that he and his crew are well" Optimus said. "And while he is a bit more 'by the book' than most of my officers, he does not, as you put it, have a 'stick shift up his aft'" he added, glaring slightly at Wheeljack.

Wheeljack's smile turned a little sheepish.

"Let us regroup to figure out this… this" Optimus said, and walked toward Ratchet, Wheeljack, and the Dinobots.

Ironhide leaned close to the Wheeljack next to him and whispered "He does! How'd you know?"

"I imagine I have a 50/50 chance of him being similar to the one back home" he replied. "Speaking of, is there by chance a Bulkhead too?"

"He's part of old Magnus' crew as well. Their ship left a few days before our own. We haven't heard from them in a few thousand years, but if Optimus says their fine-"

"A few THOUSAND YEARS?!"

"To be fair, we were in stasis for most of them"

Wheeljack retracted his battle mask and stared at Ironhide with his jaw dropped.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice! We sent out an encrypted message with our location as soon as we got the resources to do so. We've gotten stragglers coming in from far and wide for a while now, so it's just a matter of time til Magnus and all show up. We even sent them some coordinates for an area big enough to land their ship. Its right over yonder, near where ... we … found … you"

Ironhide eyed him suspiciously.

"Why were you run off to these parts anyway?"

Wheeljack returned the look, but not as intensely.

"Its where I always run off to. If I lose sight of the other wreckers in my crew, I find it again at these coordinates, no matter what hunk of rock we're on."

Ironhide was about to retort when-

"Ironhide! OTHER Wheeljack! Quit the pillow talk and get over here!" Ratchet yelled, arms crossed and looking impatient.

"This conversation ain't over" Ironhide said.

Rejoining the group, Ratchet was looking back and forth between the two Wheeljacks, looking down and shaking his head every so often, Wheeljack was working on straightening out some of Snarl's bent tail spikes, and Optimus Prime was trying to convince Sludge that just because he COULD stomp down trees in his apatosaurus alt mode and eat the squirrels out of them, doesn't mean he SHOULD, and that NOT doing so will result in fewer getting stuck in his nostrils.

"I think we're going to need Preceptor's opinion on this, Prime" Ratchet said, stopping his glancing and giving Prime his full attention. "And getting the humans' perspective on this couldn't hurt, either."

"Very well. Autobots! Transform and roll out!"

And transform and roll out they did.

* * *

Back at the base, it appeared that the story of the duplicate Wheeljack had spread, as there was a small crowd waiting for them when they got back. Ironhide, hating to be in the middle of so much attention, took care of this.

"Don't all y'all have things you should be doing? Quit yer lollygagging about and get back to work!"

The majority of the gathered autobots scattered, except for Jazz and Prowl, who were radioed to meet them at the front entrance.

"Got your message, bossbot!" Jazz greeted. He then looked from one Wheeljack to the other in awe. "Two Wheeljacks. What will they think of next?"

"Anyway" Prowl interrupted. "Perceptor isn't on base right now. He's still out with Beachcomber collecting samples. Spike and Carly are in the rec room with Bumblebee, but I highly advise we wait until we complete some scans before we let-" Prowl paused to scrutinize both Wheeljacks before settling on the one he was sure wasn't supposed to be in their universe, then continued "- _him_ anywhere near the humans"

"That ain't no reason to be rude" Ironhide said.

Wheeljack just shrugged.

"I can't say I blame him. I don't know him, he doesn't know me. Would have done the same if I were in his place." He looked at Prowl. "Alright copbot-"

"Prowl"

"Alright, Prowl, lead the way."

* * *

Medbay was mostly empty, except for Tracks and Blaster, who were sitting in the waiting area.

"It's about time you got back Ratchet" Tracks said, standing up and gesturing dramatically. "The most horrible thing just occurred! Blaster and I were returning from our mission when this punk kid on a scooter KEYED me!" he pointed at a large pretty nasty scratch on one of his doors. "Can you believe it? The nerve!"

Ratchet then looked over to Blaster, still slouching in his chair. He was covered in heavy dents and scratches, his front glass panel shattered, and a proud grin.

Ratchet sighed.

"And what happened to you?"

The grin grew bigger.

Ratchet sighed deeper.

"Did you get into a fight with Soundwave again?"

Balster nodded.

"You shoulda seen it. And before you ask, we were in the desert, so no humans got hurt"

"Did you record it?" Jazz interrupted, a hopeful look on his face. Ratchet and Prowl glared at him while Blaster gave a small chuckle.

"Steeljaw caught it all. Once Doc bot gives me the A OK, we've got to have a movie night"

"Wheeljack, help me- no, not you, the, uh, science Wheeljack- help me get Blaster to the examination table. Tracks, go bother your human friend, Raul, to fix your scratch. I am not a cosmetics bot and besides, you'll just complain that I'm 'doing it wrong' the entire time anyway"

Tracks huffed, muttering something along the lines of 'He'd do a better job anyway', and left the room.

Ratchet shook his head in bewilderment.

"Jazz, you're the fastest one on base, can you go get Perceptor? I'd call Beachcomber, but you know how he likes to dawdle"

"No prob Doc bot! I'll be back lickedy split!"

Jazz then transformed and sped off.

With Ratchet and Wheeljack busy working on Blaster, Optimus turned to the last two bots in the room; Prowl, Ironhide, and the remaining Wheeljack. With a nod to Prowl and a quick reassuring shoulder squeeze to Ironhide, he spoke to Wheeljack.

"Seeing that we have some time, why don't you tell us your recollection as to how you came to be here. Perhaps within that, we can find a solution in which we can send you home."


	3. Chapter 3

Once the four autobots settled down in the small waiting area of medbay, Optimus motioned for Wheeljack to begin his story.

"Alright, well, me and my buddy, Bulkhead, were helping one of our human friends learn how to drive, right? So she's riding with Bulkhead and I'm up in front, giving directions and what not, when we stumble upon a Decepticon mining operation. Normally, Bulkhead and I would just storm the joint and blow the place sky high, Wrecker style-"

"'Wrecker style'?" Prowl interrupted, confused. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term"

"Uh, Really Big Kaboom?" Wheeljack tried.

"Ah. I see." With a glance back to the Wheeljack working with Ratchet, Prowl asked in a not whisper "Prime, should we really be keeping them in the same room?"

Optimus glanced back as well. Ratchet and Wheeljack were too focused on repairing Blaster's damaged circuitry to notice.

"Given that our Wheeljack has not been known to 'kaboom' when working on another bot's circuitry, I think for the time being, we have nothing to fear" Optimus responded.

"Well, at least you told Jazz to skedaddle" Ironhide said. "I already know what kind of auditory mayhem him and Blaster get into when they're in the same room for more than two minutes. Now get back to the story. It sounds like you're about to get to the good bit"

"Well, as I was saying, Bulkhead and I were going to blow the joint, but since we had Miko-"

"Miko?"

"The human friend. Anyway, since we decided the best thing to do was to send her back to base, right?"

"A logical conclusion" Prowl agreed.

"So I call up Ratchet- the one from my world, obviously- to send a ground bridge to my-"

"A what now?" Ironhide asked.

"You don't have ground bridges in this universe? How do you get anywhere that's too far to drive?"

"We just get a lift from our buddy, Skyfire" Ironhide said.

"What is he, a shuttle?"

"Yup"

"Huh. Well, it's… it's like a space bridge but smaller. So our ground bridge gets there, but then another one appears between me and Bulkhead, and ANOTHER one appears right on top of me! There's this big explosion, and next thing I know, I'm here in your base" Wheeljack concluded. He leaned back in his seat and waited for comments.

" _If they don't believe me, I'll make a run for it. Those big guys I ran into earlier seemed to like me enough not to bite my head off"_ Wheeljack thought. " _And if they do, once that Perceptor guy gets back, I've got a one way ticket home"_

"Alert! Decepticon attack on West Coast Power Plant! Immediate action required!" Teletraan 1 said.

"Looks like this will have to wait. Autobots! Transform and roll out!" Optimus said.

* * *

Megatron was leading a swarm of Insecticons on an attack on the power plant. Skywarp and Thundercracker filled up cubes while Soundwave loaded the cubes into Astrotrain's cargo bay and Starscream was criticizing everything, from the illogical use of the insecticons to the humidity. The humans who worked at the plant were hiding in wait of an opening to get to a nearby jeep and escape. unfortunately, Skywarp and Thundercracker were getting closer and closer to their hiding spot.

Optimus led his group of Autobots, which consisted of Ironhide, Prowl, Tracks, and the alternate universe Wheeljack, to behind a grouping of large boulders and motioned for them to be quiet.

"Ok Autobots, before we can stop Megatron, we must get the humans out of danger first. I am open to suggestions"

"I've got one, boss bot" Wheeljack replied.

He then stood up, took aim, and threw his grenade at some crates at the opposite side of the plant of the human workers.

The crates exploded, throwing chunks of wood and burnt factory supplies in various directions. Skywarp and Thundercracker ran in that direction, allowing the humans the opportunity they needed to get to the jeep and out of danger.

Optimus sighed. He didn't care for this new Wheeljack's style, but couldn't argue that it wasn't effective.

"Autobots, attack!" Optimus yelled, leading his troops from out of their makeshift cover.

They fought.

"Hey, Ironhide, is that _Starscream_?!" Wheeljack asked.

"Yeah" Ironhide replied. "Why?"

"He's fatter than I remember, that's all"

Starscream huffed indignantly while Skywarp pointed and laughed.

"Haha, he's right! You are fat, fatty!" Skywarp jeered.

Starscream growled angrily.

"Why you little, pit spawn of a glitch, when I get my hands on you I'll-"

"And your clones are ugly too!"

Now it was Skywarp's turn to huff in anger.

"I am _not_ ugly! I'm the prettiest seeker I know!" Skywarp replied.

"And we're not clones, either!" Thundercracker added.

"We're not?"

"No, of course we're not! Do you even know what a clone is?"

"Uhhh…"

"Decepticons! We have what we came for! Back to base!" Megatron yelled. He pushed Optimus and started to fly. "Astrotrain, blast off!"

"Nevermind, I'll explain it to you when we get back to base" Thundercracker said. He and Starscream transformed and started flying.

"See you around, Autoclowns!" Skywarp said, transforming and taking off as well.

"We've got to stop them!" ironhide said.

He started to run after them, but Wheeljack stopped him. He was holding a detonator.

"And three, two, one" Wheeljack said, then activated the detonator. A loud explosion came from Astrotrain and smoke came out of his cargo bay. He opened his hatch and released the sizzling energon cubes before those, too, could explode.

"Now that was style!" Tracks observed.

"That was amazing" Ironhide praised.

"Good work, Wheeljack" Optimus said. "Everyone, transform and roll for home!"

* * *

Back in the lab, Perceptor was taking scans of the two Wheeljacks, going back and forth, taking notes, and muttering things like 'uh huh', 'interesting', and 'well, that's different'.

"Well, what have you got so far?" Ironhide asked after a few hours.

"Not much. Most of the distinctions are too minute to be worth mentioning" Perceptor said. "However, this Wheeljack is a few Earth inches taller than ours. So you say your untimely arrival was due to three intersecting dimensional transport systems?"

"Yeah, that about sums it up"

"Perhaps if we were to commandeer a Decepticon space bridge, I could reverse the polarities-"

"We'll take care of getting that space bridge and leave all that fancy science stuff to you. How's that sound?" Ironhide said.

"Yes, yes- of course! My apologies, I get carried away sometimes…" Perceptor replied. He then went back to fiddling with the controls at the main computer.

"I'll trade you," Wheeljack said to Ironhide suddenly.

"Huh what now?"

"I'll give you the Perceptor from my world if you give me yours" Wheeljack said.

* * *

Author's Note: let me know if there's a G1 character you want to see Wheeljack from the Prime universe interact with before he goes back home


	4. Chapter 4

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" declared Skyfire, the usually calm bot startling the other occupants of the room as he entered the base. "I will allow no such thing."

"You won't allow what?" Perceptor asked distractedly, barley glancing over his shoulder. He had been so busy sciencing on the computer he didn't catch what Wheeljack had proposed.

"Skyfire, calm down. Be rational-" Prowl started to say.

Skyfire crossed the room to Perceptor and gently picked him up and held him protectively.

"And why do you want him anyway?" Prowl asked Wheeljack, perplexed. "From what we know about you, you prefer a more... hands on approach, where Perceptor has a more scientific, detailed one. I mean- he took half an hour comparing just your optic colors!"

"Alright, fine. I'll leave him be." Wheeljack scratched the back of his neck a little sheepishly. "Too be honest, I don't exactly know where my universe's Perceptor is, or even if he's still alive. I was going to give you our Ratchet instead- the one from where I'm from looks different, a lot more orange and grumpy than your guy- and hope you didn't notice"

Ironhide gave a rough bark of a laugh. "It's alright Skyfire. I'll keep an eye on him. You can put Perceptor down now"

Optimus glanced back at his Wheeljack, who was finishing up the last of Blaster's repairs while Jazz sat next to him, talking and waving his arms excitedly. Ratchet had started cleaning and putting away the equipment. Then he looked back to the other Wheeljack. He was so similar, but at the same time, a complete stranger.

Lost in thought, Optimus didn't notice Jazz until he was snapping his fingers in front of his face.

"-ime? Prime!"

"My apologies, Jazz. My mind was… elsewhere. What was it you were saying?"

"No worries, man. Just wanted to see if you wanted to come with to check out Wheeljack's new device"

"New device?" Optimus asked concernedly. He looked to the corner with the large, sheet covered object. "That one over there?"

Wheeljack took this as his que.

"Gentlemen, I present to you; the screenless projector!" he said dramatically, pulling the cover off to reveal a cylindrical device with a lense at the top. "By stacking the light particles vertically, we eliminate the need of a backdrop completely! And more importantly, since it doesn't need a screen, we can use it virtually anywhere!"

"Wheeljack, that's brilliant!" Perceptor exclaimed, still in Skyfire's arms even though Ironhide said he could put him down. "Skyfire, if you don't mind" He gestured towards the ground. "I'd like to get a closer look at Wheeljack's new device"

He put him back on his feet, though slowly and nervously. Skyfire still didn't trust that this other Wheeljack wouldn't go back on his word on not taking Perceptor back to his other reality, despite Ironhide's reassurances that he wouldn't let that happen. Not only was he worried about losing a fellow Autobot, but one that he considered a close friend. While the other Autobots weren't antagonistic towards him, few spoke to him unless they needed a ride somewhere or help reaching a high placed object.

Perceptor was there for him whenever he needed to talk, and the two spent countless hours together under the stars.

Optimus took him out of his nervous daydreaming with a comforting hand on his back.

"Do not worry, Skyfire. We will keep close watch on him"

Skyfire still worried, but his shoulders, which he didn't even realise were tense, relaxed.

Optimus turned back to Jazz.

"Indeed I shall. How are you planning to test it?"

Jazz smiled.

* * *

A few hours later, outside the base, Wheeljack and Perceptor were setting up the contraption while Ironhide introduced the newcomer Wheeljack to the Autobots returning from their missions.

"Alright, so that guy over there talking to Jazz over there? That's Blaster-" Ironhide began.

"Aren't those the two you said cause 'auditory mayhem'?" Wheeljack asked.

"Well, yeah, but we're outside now, so it shouldn't be as bad. Fancy wheels over there is Tracks, and the human with him is Raoul"

"What about that one over there? The one talking to himself"

"That there's Hound, and he's talking to Mirage"

"Let me guess, he's invisible" Wheeljack said sarcastically.

"Yep" Ironhide said, ignoring the sarcasm. "Hey Mirage! Show yourself!" he shouted.

In a shimmer of light, Mirage appeared next to Hound.

"Well would you look at that. An invisible Autobot"

"And Hound can make holograms"

"Wait- if he can make holograms, what do you need that projector- thingy for?"

Ironhide just shrugged.

"For when he's not on base, I guess. Hound's our expert tracker, so he goes on patrol a lot"

Wheeljack hummed.

"I remember your copbot, Prowl, saying something about Bumblebee. Which one is he?"

"Yellow one over there" Ironhide said with a vague head tilt to his right.

Wheeljack followed the tilt to a shiny yellow bot talking to an equally shiny red one. The yellow bot paused to sneer at him before resuming his conversation.

Wheeljack was disappointed.

" _That's_ Bumblebee?" Wheeljack finally said, eyebrows scrunched in disbelief.

"No, no, that's Sunstreaker. Bot next to him is his brother, Sideswipe. They're almost more trouble than they're worth. _That's_ Bumblebee, and the two humans with him are Spike and Carly"

This time Wheeljack was shocked. Bumblebee, oblivious that he was being talked about, was listening to Carly talk while Spike cooked at the portable grill.

" _That's_ Bumblebee?" Wheeljack didn't see any other yellow bots around. "It's just- he's so-"

Wheeljack made some vague gestures.

"So _what?_ "

"Short!" Wheeljack said, louder than he intended. Bumblebee looked up at that.

Ironhide waved.

"Hey Ironhide! Hi Wheeljack!" Bumblebee responded, waving back before continuing his conversation.

"He can _talk?_ " Wheeljack asked, still amazed.

"Duh, yeah? Of course he can talk!" a short red bot cut in. "Just because us minibots are short doesn't mean you can talk all over us!"

He then stormed over to join Bumblebee, and his mood slightly improved.

"That's Cliffjumper" Ironhide supplied.

"I'm not sure if I can be surprised by anything anymore. I know there was a Cliffjumper back home, but he's- he's not around anymore"

Ironhide nodded in understanding, and was about to reply when the ground started to shake.


	5. Chapter 5

"Duck and cover! Earthquake! We're under attack!" Wheeljack shouted, brandishing his swords and taking a defensive stance.

The gathered Autobots stared at him, confused.

"Whoa, whoa, easy there, buddy. It's just Omega Supreme, no need to get your transistors in a bunch," Ironhide intervened, placing his hand on Wheeljack's shoulder.

Wheeljack was frozen in place, confused. Jazz ran up to Omega for a hug, wrapping his arms around the giant Autobot's ankle joint. Omega reached down and carefully scooped Jazz up in his hand and brought him up to eye level.

"Invitation to gathering; appreciated," Omega said in a loud, monotone voice.

"No problem, man. We can't party without our guest of honor, now can we?" Jazz replied with a smile.

Omega tried to smile back, but looked more constipated than joyful. He put Jazz back on the ground and noticed the second Wheeljack. He nodded at him, and then followed Jazz back to Blaster and they all continued their conversation.

Wheeljack, convinced at last that he wouldn't be squashed by this giant Omega Supreme, relaxed and re sheathed his swords.

"HAH! You talk all big and tough, but go all chicken at seeing Omega Supreme," Cliffjumper butted in. "Red Alert isn't even that high strung, and he thought 'photo bombing' was a threat to security!"

"And you're blowing exhaust fumes out your tailpipe," Bumblebee said with a smug grin. "As I remember it, the first time you met the big guy, you freaked out so bad, you blew out a tire!"

Cliffjumper was stunned. He open and closed his mouth a few times before huffing and crossing his arms in frustration.

* * *

Wheeljack and Perceptor passed tools back and forth while they talked.

"So what do you think of the new guy, P?" Wheeljack asked.

"Hmm. He's…, um, interesting, to say the least" Perceptor replied hesitantly. "Though if i had the opportunity to study his reality, think of all we could learn from it! They're transportation technology alone could give us the winning edge to best the Decepticons"

"Woah woah woah, wait a minute. You're not seriously considering letting that other me keep you?" Wheeljack paused. "Right? I'd miss you, pal. We're science buddies"

"I would only visit for a short period of time, and I would most certainly take you along with me. Skyfire, too. A good scientist never goes into the field without backup, Wheeljack" Perceptor frowned. "But I can't stop thinking about the iris deviations in pigment. I feel like I've missed something, and I can't figure out what"

"You'll figure it out"

Wheeljack smiled at him behind his mask and the two went back to their work.

* * *

"Attention, everyone! May I have your attention, please!" the local Wheeljack shouted, trying and failing to get the gathered Autobots' attention.

"I've got this," Ratchet said. He transformed and put on his lights and sirens. That got their attention.

"Thank you, Ratchet. Now without further adieu, I present my latest invention; the screenless projector! And what better way to break it in than with a good old fashioned movie night? Tonight we'll be showing Blaster's epic showdown with Soundwave!" Wheeljack paused as the group applauded.

"Before we get started, I'd like to introduce our guest of honor, Omega Supreme, who will be able to join us now that we can show movies on a screen- well, lack of screen- bigger than Teletraan 1. If you'll all take your seats, we'll start the show!"

Wheeljack gave a small signal. Perceptor pressed a button on the device and Blaster turned some dials on giant speakers. The air above the screenless projector flickered to life, and the movie began.

[Soundwave picked up a dumpster and was about to throw it through a wall of the power plant when a sonic blast hit him.

"No way, Soundwave. Not on my watch!" Blaster shouted, aiming another sonic blast.

However, Soundwave was ready for it, and was able to counter it with a pulse of his own. The two sound waves met in the middle and ricocheted, causing both to be pushed backwards.

Soundwave found his footing first, and started kicking the still down Blaster. Blaster retaliated by grabbing his leg and pulling it out from under him. He then backed up, and as soon as Soundwave was back on his feet, tackled him to the ground. Soundwave pushed him off.

"Rumble, Frenzy, Ravage; eject," Soundwave monotoned, releasing three of his cassetticons from his chest compartment.]

"Wait, where'd _they_ come from?" Wheeljack whispered to Ironhide.

"We don't actually know. Blaster recently got a brood of his own, but he won't tell us nothing either"

Someone shushed them from up front, and the two went back to quietly watching the movie.

["Aww, Soundwave, I thought we were having some special one-on-one time!" Blaster said in mock hurt, covering his spark chamber dramatically with one hand.

"Looks like you're out numbered, Auto-dope!" Rumble challenged.

Blaster smirked.

"You so sure? Count again! Rewind, Eject, Steeljaw, Ramhorn! Come on out!" Blaster shouted, releasing three of his own cassette bots into the battle, and the camera (AKA Steeljaw) went from his high perch to Blaster's side.

"Numbers; irrelevant," Soundwave monotoned. "Decepticons will be victorious"

"Bring it, Monotone!" Blaster retorted.

Before either side could continue, a large explosion knocked them both off their feet, and the footage cut out for a few seconds. When the picture returned, Blaster was unconscious, and Soundwave and the cassetticons were gone.]

* * *

AN: Fun fact - today is my birthday!


	6. Chapter 6

KABOOM!

With a large flash of light, all three groundbridges disappeared.

"JACKIE! NO!" Bulkhead screamed. There was a large scorch mark where Wheeljack had been.

"Where'd he go? He'll be alright, right Bulkhead?" Miko asked quietly from the front seat, leaning forward even though she knew she wouldn't see him.

PEW

PEW

PEW

Laser fire started blasting at them.

"We might not be if we don't get out of here! Don't want to risk another groundbridge, though. Hold on tight!"

Bulkhead sped down the twisting mountain roads as Miko clutched the upper inside car handle. The flying Vehicons were gaining as he swerved back and forth in an effort to lose them.

"Look! Up there!" Miko yelled, pointing at a narrow dirt trail pass that lead into the thick of the forest. Bulkhead turned sharply, almost throwing Miko out of her seat. The flyers broke off pursuit while the car alt mode vehicons were still hot on their trail, but thankfully were less maneuverable as Bulkhead over the rough mountain terrain.

"Go right! Right! Now left! Then-"

"Miko! Stop front seat driving! I need to focus," Bulkhead snapped.

Miko shrunk back in her seat a little with a pout, but kept her advice to herself.

For five minutes.

"Bulkhead, over there! We can lose those Decepticreeps in that tunnel," Miko shouted, gesturing wildly in her seat.

"Miko, what did I say about front seat driving?" Bulkhead asked her, turning to take the tunnel Miko suggested, despite what he just asked.

The vehicons following them stopped when they reached the mouth of the tunnel, arguing over something that Bulkhead can't make out but he doesn't care enough to try. It bought them some precious time.

"Woohoo! We finally lost those creeps!" Miko cheered. Her celebration is cut short at Bulkhead's sudden stop. "Oof! Bulkhead, what gives- oh, scrap."

Knockout, along with a group of vehicons, were blocking their way forward. Bulkhead made a sharp U turn in the tunnel only to find that the way that they entered was now sealed off.

Knock Out laughed, and it echoed like a coin hitting the bottom of an empty well.

"Poor little Autobot," Knock Out drawled with a malicious smirk as he lifted up a handheld metallic relic. "All dressed up with nowhere to go. At least, nowhere _yet._ Maybe a nice, one way ticket to The Pit, hmm?"

Bulkhead transformed, himself protectively trying to hide Miko from view. Miko, however, kept leaning past to try to see around Bulkhead's leg. Knock Out either didn't notice her or didn't really care.

"Weren't there two of you just a little while ago?" Knock Out continued. "Where's that katana wielding boyfriend of yours?" He faked a dramatic gasp. "Did you two break up? That's too bad. I was really rooting for you kids" Knock Out continued, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Such a shame."

Knock Out fired the relic, and Bulkhead and Miko were gone in a flash.

* * *

Thundercracker and Skywarp were in their habitation suite in front of a large human whiteboard with markings all over it.

"Ok, we've gone over this three times. Do you understand?" Thundercracker asked.

"Yes" Skywarp replied in the tone he used when he understood nothing said to him.

"Are you sure?" Thundercracker asked, skeptical.

"Yes. I understand everything." He understood nothing other than he was hungry. Maybe there would be fresh energon in the common room if he warped there instead of walked. Thundercracker would be mad at him for leaving while he was talking, but less mad if some of the energon brought back was high grade. Oh, scrap. Thundercracker was still talking.

"-re you _absolutely_ sure?"

"No, I'm Skywarp"

Thundercracker was about to explain cloning a fourth time when Starscream burst in.

"What are you two idiots doing just lazing around? There's work to do! Go! Go! Go! Now! Now! _Now!_ " Starscream shouted angrily.

Thundercracker and Skywarp ran out of the room in a chaotic three stooges fashion. Skywarp even made the whooping noise.

Starscream looked at the whiteboard and scoffed in disgust. Only imbeciles hid behind clones of themselves, like the Insecticons. An army; completely of one mind, following that mind's orders without question or hesitation, never getting distracted by shiny objects-

Starscream paused in the pacing he didn't realize that he started, and a calculating smile spread itself across his face. Maybe cloning wasn't such an imbecilic idea after all.


	7. Chapter 7

The movie ended, and many of the gathered Autobots started heading their separate ways.

"So what happened to ol' monotone?" Jazz asked Blaster. "And what was the deal with that explosion?"

Blaster shrugged. "I don't know, man. I just don't know."

"I think I saw a guy come through the explosion" Rewind chipped in from on top of Blaster's shoulder. "A big, green guy"

"Oh yeah! I saw him too, but I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating or what," Eject added from his perch on Blaster's other shoulder.

"All right. Enough you two!" Blaster said, lifting them up and putting then on the ground with a little push forward. "We got no more patience for the peanut gallery. Shoo! Kids these days. Always looking over your shoulder."

"Hey! We're not kids-" Rewind interjected.

Blaster gave them a slightly harder push forward.

* * *

After the end of the movie, Ratchet, Perceptor, Ironhide, and the Wheeljack 'twins' went back to medbay to figure out what to do next.

"Have you tried contacting him?" Ironhide asked.

"That's one of the first things I did when I got here. I'm telling you, it's not going to work!"

"Wheeljack?" Perceptor intervened.

"Yeah?"

"No, not you, the other one- oh, dear, this is getting rather confusing"

"Bulkhead calls me 'Jackie', is that any better?"

"Yes, much, thank you. Wheeljack, why are we back in-"

A loud crash, followed by metallic scraping sounds came from the hallway.

"Move it or lose it"

"Ow! Quit pushing!"

"Hey!"

"You stepped on my foot!"

"Ah," Perceptor sighed. "That's why"

"Ah, what's why?" Jackie asked.

Four noisy, rambunctious jets crashed into madbay, shortly followed by a much calmer, tired looking one.

"Lets just get this over with," Silverbolt said.

"That's the spirit! Now, where are your Protectobot brothers?" Wheeljack asked.

That's when five more Autobots quickly ran in comparatively more calmly than the Aerialbots.

"Sorry we're late, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Wheeljack- wait, what?" Hot Spot said in a rush.

"We'll explain later, it's a long story," Ratchet supplied.

"Well, anyway, we would have been on time if _someone_ -" Hot Spot glared at Groove, "didn't stop to save a kitten from a tree!"

Groove didn't react much to the scolding other than a relaxed shrug.

"Well, you're all here now. Let's get started. First Aid, you'll go first then help me with the rest. The rest of you, sit down," Ratchet commanded. All the Aerialbots immediately fell to seated positions while the Protectobots sat down quietly. Ratchet scanned First Aid, making 'uh huh', 'mm hm', and 'very good' noises as he went along. He then gave First Aid another scanner and the two of them plus Wheeljack started examining the rest of the group.

"So how come there are two Wheeljacks now? Did he finally figure out cloning because if he did-"

"No, Air Raid, you are not getting a clone, we've talked about this. If any of the Aerialbots are getting cloned, it's none of you. Cloning never ends well," Silverbolt intervened.

"Can we clone First Aid?" Blades asked as he was being scanned by the bot in question.

"Blades, stop moving," was First Aid's only response.

"That's not a bad idea," Skydive mused. "Wheeljack, can we-"

"NO!" Ratchet and Perceptor interjected at the same time.

"Aww…" Skydive and Wheeljack responded defeatedly together.

"Well, you do know what they say about too much of a good thing," Perceptor said.

"That it's awesome?" Streetwise asked hopefully.

"Try again"

"That it's not awesome"

"Much better"

"But why are there TWO Wheeljacks? Does the wild Wheeljack reproduce like organic cells? Did he eat enough energon that there just became another one?" Air Raid asked, coming back to his original question.

"I've been looking into that form of reproduction, actually. Unfortunately, we don't have the technology to match the theory. However-" Wheeljack started.

"He's not a clone, he's from an alternate universe," Ratchet interrupted, hoping to end Air Raid's string of questions.

Air Raid gasped and turned to Jackie.

"Does that mean there's already another me?"

"Sure, kid. Why not," Jackie responded casually.

"Am I just as cool in your universe as I am in this one?"

"Don't see why not"

"Cool," Air Raid said, and sat back in awe.

"You two done?" Ratchet asked Wheeljack and First Aid.

"Yep!" Wheeljack answered.

"Aid?"

"Just one sec-" he responded. He was on his tiptoes trying to scan the top parts of Silverbolt's wings.

"I got this," Jackie said, and he lifted First Aid up by his waist. First Aid squeaked in surprise, then finished the scan.

"Done!" First Aid responded triumphantly. "Ready to go outside now"

"Alrighty, kiddos, let's go," Wheeljack said to the group.

As they walked down the hall to outside the base, First Aid noticed something.

"Uh, hey, Wheeljack-"

"Call me Jackie"

"Could you put me down now?"

"I'll think about it"

"But I need to give Defensor a hand! Literally!"

"I have no idea what that means"

First Aid sighed. "You'll find out soon enough"

"Okay everyone! In formation!" Wheeljack instructed. "I'm going to need First Aid, so if you could put him down…"

Jackie sighed. "I guess"

Wheeljack waited.

"I meant _now_ "

Jackie put First Aid down, who then went over to join the other Protectobots.

"Ok Hot Spot, it's on you. Whenever you're ready" Ratchet instructed.

Hot Spot nodded and turned to his team.

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

Chk-chk-chk-chk-chk!

All five Protectobots transformed to vehicle mode, then joined together forming a giant robot.

Jackie stood there in awe. Perceptor walked over and closed his jaw that he didn't notice was slack.

"That," Perceptor said gesturing with a flourish, "is Defensor"

"Ohhhh, _that's_ what that means"

"Okay Silverbolt, you ready?" Ratchet asked.

"No"

"Too bad. Form Superion"

"Uhg. Okay guys, on me!"

The other four Aerialbots dogpiled on top of him.

"Whatever. Okay guys; transform!"

Chk-chk-chk-chk-chk!

A second giant robot formed where the Aerialbot pile had been.

"Looks good, guys!" Wheeljack said. "Who wants to go first?"

Defensor and Superion both pointed at the other.

"Okay, eenie, meenie, miney, Defensor went first last time, Superion you're up. Defensor, give me a boost, would ya?"

Wheeljack was about to start the examination when-

CRACK

"Hey, i found this and i think he belongs to you guys okay bye!" Skywarp said all at once before leaving with another-

CRACK

And there stood Bulkhead.


	8. Chapter 8

Starscream spun through the air, graceful but with purpose. He had heard about an interesting new invention created by a human that would help him in his latest, um, project. The only downside was that it was on the other side of the planet; Tokyo, Japan.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker, meet me at these coordinates," Starscream ordered sharply, sent them both a data burst with the coordinates and instructions, then cut off communication before either of them could start whining.

It was a long flight to Japan, and he needed to finish coming up with a plan.

Thundercracker arrived an hour after Starscream, still grumbling about being cut off and being ordered on a mission during his off hours. Skywarp arrived a few minutes after.

"It's about time you two bumbling buffoons showed up!" Starscream screeched. "The presentation is about to begin. Do you know what to do?"

"Yes," Thundercracker said sharply.

Skywarp was distracted by his fingers and hadn't said anything yet.

"Skywarp?" Starscream asked.

"Yes," Skywarp responded, unaware of what he was agreeing with.

Starscream was unconvinced.

"When Starscream says 'now', make a lot of noise and warp around and stuff," Thundercracker instructed before Starscream could start getting worked up.

"Okey dokey!" Skywarp said cheerfully. Making a lot of noise was one of his favorite things to do.

Starscream sighed. "Close enough," and he blasted a hole into the auditorium.

As the people screamed and ran in terror, Thundercracker calmly walked inside, up to the stage, pushed aside an angry woman wearing a lab coat, and took the cloth covered machine. He didn't know what it was, but he didn't really care. The sooner they got this done, the sooner he could go back to watching As The Kitchen Sinks with Reflector. If all kept going to plan, he'd only miss the opening credits. Then laser bullets started flying.

"Autobots!" Thundercracker alerted Starscream. Starscream smiled.

"Skywarp! Now!"

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

Skywarp warped to and fro, until he left the area completely. As was the Autobot attacker, whoever he was. Oh well. They'd torment some Autobrats later.

"Ready to go? Thundercracker asked.

"Let's go," Starscream said, smiling at the device in Thundercracker's hands. Everything was going according to plan.

* * *

Nothing was going according to plan.

Skywarp was just going to warp around until Starscream told him to stop. What happened was he got too close to the attacking Autobot, who grabbed his leg at the last second and threw off his warping calculations. Now he was who knows where in some desert with a big, green Autobot death gripping his leg, and a strong desire not to piss him off in case he decided to death grip his face instead. Before he could say something, his world went upside down- literally. The Autobot holding him stood up, not letting go of his leg. He was prepared to pull a Starscream and say 'uncle', whatever that meant, when the Autobot spoke first.

"Where. Is. Miko?" he asked sharply, his grip on Skywarp's leg tightening a little.

"Uh…" Skywarp started, confused. "What's a Miko? Is it that thingy that we stole- I mean, borrowed?

The Autobot scrunched his eyebrows, then shook his head quickly.

"She, not it. We got seperated-"

"Oh! Oh! I know who you mean!" Skywarp yelled, waving his arms. This startled the Autobot into dropping Skywarp onto the ground face first. Skywarp sat up, and checked for dents. Not finding anything too bad, he continued. "I can even take you to her right now!" Skywarp jumped up and, taking advantage of the big guy's confusion-

CRACK!

Warped him to right in front of the Autobot's main base.

"Hey, I found this and I think he belongs to you guys okay bye!" Skywarp said quickly. Not wanting to deal with more Autobots grabbing his body or answer any questions-

CRACK!

And he warped back to his habitation suite to drink a lot of high grade energon.

* * *

Miko sat up and rubbed her eyes with her palms.

"Ugh. Bulkhead, what hit us?"

There was no response. Miko took her hands away from her face and stood up, looking around her. She was near an empty desert back road with no sign of her ride in sight. Nor any other rides, either. She pulled out her cell phone to call base but-

"No battery? Well, this just keeps getting better and better," she said sarcastically. She had two options left; stay put or pick a direction and start walking. Both options were not appealing. There was nowhere to sit, or any road signs in sight to tell her how far the nearest anything would be. The sun was high in the sky, so she wasn't even able to figure out which way was North. Stupid sun, having to be so high and bright and oh so very hot. Miko wiped some sweat off of her forehead with her wrist sweatband. Stupid desert heat, making her hallucinate, making her see a big 4 speeding down the road, kicking up dust. Getting closer and closer then stopping right in front of her and opening it's passenger door- wait, door?

"Need a lift?" a voice said.

Miko hesitated, then noticed that there was no one in the driver's seat and started to back away.

"Don't worry- I'm an Autobot- one of the good guys! I'll get you home safe and sound, no worries!"

Miko considered for a moment, then shrugged and climbed in. If this were a Decepticreep, it would have killed her by now anyway. She closed the door and buckled her seatbelt.

"Uh, cool boombox"

"Thanks!" the boombox replied.

Miko screamed.


	9. Chapter 9

Both Superion and Defensor fell apart, literally, with surprise. Wheeljack fell to the ground, shook himself off, and got to his feet.

"Bulkhead?" Jackie said carefully.

"Jackie!" Bulkhead shouted.

Jackie ran at Bulkhead and tackled him to the ground with a hug. "What took you so long, you big bucket of bolts?"

"What took me so long? You're the one who skipped out on driving lessons," Bulkhead retorted teasingly.

"Speaking of driving lessons, where is- First Aid, what are you doing?"

First Aid was crouching next to Bulkhead, taking readings with his medical scanner.

"My job," he replied confidently, not pausing in his work. "Could you lift your arm?"

Bulkhead lifted his arm.

"Anyway, where's Miko?" Jackie asked, half expecting her to pop up from behind a rock or something. "You didn't lose her, did you?"

Bulkhead was about to answer but was interrupted by loud 80s rock music coming from Jazz's oversized speakers.

"Woooohooooo!"

"Nevermind, I found her," Jackie said, answering his own question.

She bounded out of the car shortly after it stopped moving, past First Aid, and jumped right on top of Wheeljack.

"Oof! Watch it, kid! You're getting heavy! You almost put a dent in me"

"Pft. Yeah, right" Miko scoffed.

"So that's Miko?" Ironhide asked, amused.

"Yep!" Miko replied. "Are you Old Man Ironhide?"

"I ain't that old, kid" Ironhide said with a side glare at Jazz.

"What?" Jazz said, smiling unconvincingly innocently.

"Any sign of Soundwave on your little joy ride?"

"Nope, nor of beak or tail of his evil little minions!"

"See? See? I _told_ you he was real!" Rewind shouted, jumping up and down.

Blaster smirked and leaned against Jazz's shoulder.

"Huh. would you look at that. I never said I didn't believe you, I just said I had enough of your commentary."

Miko wasn't paying attention to the conversation. She was staring at Rewind and Eject in awe.

"There are Autobots that are human sized?" Miko asked incredulously. She pointed an accusing finger at Bulkhead. "Why didn't you tell me about this?" Miko didn't wait for an answer. She ran up to the two cassette-bots and started asking questions.

"Well, if you think we're cool, you should see Ramhorn and Steeljaw!" Eject suggested.

"And if you think we're cool,-" Steeljaw started.

"Oh my god a talking lion robot!" Miko squealed.

"Okay, that's enough from you," First Aid said, scooping her up. "Okay, so you're impressed by small, but what about really, _really_ big?"

"How big are we talking?" Miko asked sceptically.

"Ooh! Ooh! I know! Pick me!" Skydive interrupted, jumping up and down waving his hand in the air.

"Do you want to get it started?" First aid asked.

He didn't get an answer. Skydive was running into the other Aerialbots, and somehow through their collision, formed Superion once more.

"Well?" First Aid asked to an awestruck Miko. "What do you think?"

"Woah"

"Pretty cool, right?"

"Yeah"

"Do you know what else would be pretty cool? Finishing check ups," Wheeljack said in his Dad Voice.

"Oh! Right! Uh, here, take this," First Aid said, and handed him Miko.

He and the other Protectobots transformed together into Defensor and picked up Wheeljack again.

"Woah, woah, wait up, big guy! I've got a baby on board," Wheeljack exclaimed.

"Hey! I am NOT a baby!" Miko protested.

"Of course not! You're a Wrecker!" Jackie said, taking her from Wheeljack.

Miko looked from Jackie to Wheeljack and back again.

"Clones?" she asked hopefully.

"Alternate dimension. There might even be another you running around!"

"Dude, that would be so cool- I've always wanted a sister!"

Ironhide tilted his head back and laughed, while Bulkhead just put his face in his hands and shook his head.


End file.
